Friday Face Off Cover Reveal: Unravel Me

Friday Face Off is a meme hosted by one of my favorite book bloggers Misty over at The Book Rat.  Usually this meme focuses on different cover designs for the same book and decides which is better for the story.  I wanted to take this meme and add a little twist to it today by discussing a cover reveal!

 

This week I want to talk yet again about my bookish pet peeve.  We have another series cover re-design, oh boy! (there's a lot of scarcasim in the sentence).  This one is a pretty huge change too.  I want to discuss Tahereh Mafi's Shatter Me series. 

 

 

So this is the original cover (the one I have) and while it in itself is a common theme (girl in a pretty dress) there's a certain fierceness to it.  I also really like the title font with the slash and how reflective it is in real life. 

 

But of course, with the second book in the series, Unravel Me, they had to go changing the design.

 

These are pretty terrible.  First, I really hate floating body parts on covers, especially eyes (and feet).  I like the color scheme, but the eyes are creepy and as far as I know have nothing to do with the story.  It would have been a lot better to just have the trees/ice and to skip the eyes all together. 

 

What do you think, do you like the new covers more, or would you have liked them to stick with the original design?

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

Published June 3, 2010 by Hodder Children's Books
3 Stars

Goodreads Review
The story of Scarlett and Rosie March, two highly-skilled sisters who have been hunting Fenris (werewolves) -- who prey on teen girls -- since Scarlett lost her eye years ago while defending Rosie in an attack. Scarlett lives to destroy the Fenris, and she and Rosie lure them in with red cloaks (a colour the wolves can't resist), though Rosie hunts more out of debt to her sister than drive. But things seem to be changing. The wolves are getting stronger and harder to fight, and there has been a rash of news reports about countless teenage girls being brutally murdered in the city. Scarlett and Rosie soon discover the truth: wolves are banding together in search of a Potential Fenris -- a man tainted by the pack but not yet fully changed. Desperate to find the Potential to use him as bait for a massive werewolf extermination, the sisters move to the city with Silas, a young woodsman and long time family friend who is deadly with an axe. Meanwhile, Rosie finds herself drawn to Silas and the bond they share not only drives the sisters apart, but could destroy all they've worked for.


Review:  I came to Sisters Red with high expectations.  I loved the concept of this re-telling of Little Red Riding Hood, and I loved the addition of hardcore werewolf hunting sisters.  It's such an interesting spin on the fairy tale, and I love the girl power behind the idea.  I thought the sisters, Scarlett and Rosie, have well developed voices and the mythology behind the werewolves was strong and made a lot of sense (I loved the reasoning behind the red cloaks!), but there were some shortcomings.

The best part of Sisters Red is the werewolves.  They are ferocious and frightening, and I really love the sexual predator aspect (I know that sounds creepy, but it totally works with the story).  Everything the girls do, from their red cloaks to their demeanor to their hatchets, is to lure the werewolves in.  I love how they take the wolves sexual nature and turn it back on them and use their sexuality as a weapon.  It makes for an evocative read.

I had two major problems with Sisters Red.  The first was the pacing.  I thought many aspects of the story became redundant, with the characters doing the same exact thing just in a different location without any growth.  The story really didn't pick up until the final 100 pages. 

The other problem I had was the lack of growth with the sisters.  Rosie got a bad case of insta-love which was about as far as she developed.  Scarlett is a fantastic character and starts off so interesting, but she really doesn't grow.  She starts off very jaded, and while some people have claimed her attitude as slut-shaming, I understand where she's coming from.  I think she's extremely bitter about the fact that her innocence, her change to be a silly girl, was taken away from her.  She's scared, both physically and emotionally.  I would have loved to have seen some of her scars heal, but I just didn't get enough which was really disappointing. 

Overall Sisters Red is an excellent start and though it has some flaws there is so much potential.  I am definitely going to be reading more of Jackson Pearce's fairy tales and I'm looking forward to more creative re-tellings!

Friday Face Off Cover Reveal: Boundless

Friday Face Off is a meme hosted by one of my favorite book bloggers Misty over at The Book Rat.  Usually this meme focuses on different cover designs for the same book and decides which is better for the story.  I wanted to take this meme and add a little twist to it today by discussing a cover reveal!

 

I really love the covers for Cynthia Hand's Unearthly series.  I think they're beautiful and in real life they are super shiny and look really great together.  The Third book in the series, Boundless, will be released January of next year.

 

I really like series that have a color scheme, and I love how one book is purple, one is blue, and the newest one is red.  There is such a great cohesiveness to this series.  I love the swooping font and the feathers.  This is a beautiful series and I'm going to be reading them so soon! 

 

Off the Shelf #18

  Hello everyone and welcome to Off the Shelf!  This is my way of sharing any new books I receive or buy as well as let you all know what my reading plans are for the week and what I hope to get off my TBR shelf.

Oops I'm a day late this week!  I am back from work and I was so zonked but I did manage to read quite a bit for being away from home.  I finished two books this week, Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo and Butter by Erin Jade Lange (this is an egalley that comes out in September).  I had mixed feelings about Shadow and Bone but ultimately really enjoyed it and Butter was very good and really hit close to home.  There will be a review a little closer to release date, so keep an eye out!

To Read This Week

Graceling by Kristen Cashore

I started Graceling by Kristen Cashore for the C book in my A-Z challenge and I love it so far.  I'm already half done, so I'm sure to finish this week.

Here's Hoping

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (of course).  This is my book after Graceling, and then if I'm lucky enough to finish that, I'll start The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting which is the D book for my A-Z challenge.

Pure by Julianna Baggott

#1 in the Pure Series
Published February 8, 2012 by Grand Central Publishing
4 Stars

Goodreads Review
We know you are here, our brothers and sisters . . .
Pressia barely remembers the Detonations or much about life during the Before. In her sleeping cabinet behind the rubble of an old barbershop where she lives with her grandfather, she thinks about what is lost-how the world went from amusement parks, movie theaters, birthday parties, fathers and mothers . . . to ash and dust, scars, permanent burns, and fused, damaged bodies. And now, at an age when everyone is required to turn themselves over to the militia to either be trained as a soldier or, if they are too damaged and weak, to be used as live targets, Pressia can no longer pretend to be small. Pressia is on the run.

Burn a Pure and Breathe the Ash . . .
There are those who escaped the apocalypse unmarked. Pures. They are tucked safely inside the Dome that protects their healthy, superior bodies. Yet Partridge, whose father is one of the most influential men in the Dome, feels isolated and lonely. Different. He thinks about loss-maybe just because his family is broken; his father is emotionally distant; his brother killed himself; and his mother never made it inside their shelter. Or maybe it’s his claustrophobia: his feeling that this Dome has become a swaddling of intensely rigid order. So when a slipped phrase suggests his mother might still be alive, Partridge risks his life to leave the Dome to find her.

When Pressia meets Partridge, their worlds shatter all over again.


Review:  Pure is a gut wrenching post apocalyptic novel.  The world building is fantastic, with rich descriptions that don't skimp on the horror of what has happened.  Pure has a unique concept that, while bizarre, is engrossing.  Pure paints a vivid picture of bodies fused to objects, the ground, other bodies, and the shock of how these people came to be disfigured really punches your heart.  

Pure is unlike the majority of other YA apocalyptic novels, both in the pacing and characterization.  Most YA apocalyptic stories are told at a blazing pace, often sacrificing explanation of the plot (like here, and here) but Pure is definitely not the norm.  There is lush descriptions and atmosphere which give a fantastic world set up, but also moves at a much slower pace.  If you like a more literary approach to your science fiction, such as The Road, you will enjoy Pure.  Another aspect of Pure that differs from the normal YA fare is the romance, or lack there of.  There is a hint, but it is not the major plot point which is a welcome relief.  

Pure is told from multiple perspectives, and I found myself really enjoying half of them.  I really liked Pressia and El Captain, the two perspectives that were outside the dome.  Their world was so interesting and horrific, I was completely drawn into their lives and how the world had changed.  I found myself not as connected to Partridge and Lyda, the two characters in the dome.  I don't think the political structure and history of the dome was clear enough for me to understand fully why it existed and how it failed as a society. 

Pure's strength lies in the atmosphere.  The world is frightfully disfigured, but the fact that human life perseveres on and adapts to their mutations creates a disconcerting tone  that is unlike the other YA dystopians out there.   I would recommend this to anyone who loves apocalyptic novels but is tired of the same old formulas.

Friday Face Off Cover Reveal: Shadows in the Silence

Friday Face Off is a meme hosted by one of my favorite book bloggers Misty over at The Book Rat.  Usually this meme focuses on different cover designs for the same book and decides which is better for the story.  I wanted to take this meme and add a little twist to it today by discussing a cover reveal!

This week we have the cover of Shadows in the Silence by Courtney Allison Moulton, the third and final book in her Angelfire series. 

I really like all of these covers.  I like how there is continuity between all of the covers.  She has the same weapon, same hair color, and same font, which really creates a great flow.  I also like how they easily convey the urban fantasy feel and really draw me in.  But mostly I LOVE how they picked a theme and stuck with that design for the whole series.  No cover re-dos YAY!

What do you think?  Post in the comments!

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

#1 in the Grisha Trilogy
Published June 5, 2012 by Henry Holt and Co.
4/5 Stars

Goodreads Review
Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee. 

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. 

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart.

Review:  Shadow and Bone is really hard to rate and review. It was nothing like what I expected, which is good and bad. There were many aspects that I found extremely frustrating and unoriginal, but even with my grievances I could not put this book down. Shadow and Bone was a read until 2am, sneak pages during work, and walk around doing everything one handed because it is just that compelling kind of a book. 

The story of Shadow and Bone starts off totally awesome, but then slides into very typical YA fare. There are mean girls and boarding school antics and a sexy dark mysterious hottie OMG!!!! It was so frustrating because there is a very interesting foundation for Shadow and Bone but it is just buried under trite YA carp. The story does turn back to the awesome later on, but the aspects of the story that lead our character to make changes felt forced and extremely convenient. 

The main character Alina has a bit of a Bella Swan syndrome. She is told she is special, she has a destiny, but she just constantly denies it because the magical Grisha are “beautiful and striking” where Alina is “plain and awkward.” It’s definitely a case of “I’m so ugly, I’m so plain, there’s no way I’m special!” mentality which is completely annoying. And of course the first thing they do to her is give her a super magical makeover! Too much time is spent focusing on physical attributes that ultimately give very little to the overall story. 

I also had some pretty major issues with parts of the writing. Alina and her friends sounded like modern American teenagers. They say things like "you guys" and "you're crazy" and "that's his problem" and other expressions that modernize the narrative and took me out of the story. In my opinion, when you write a fantasy that has a historical feeling to it, you can't use modern expressions or culturally specific ones that don't match the culture of the characters. 

Speaking of culture, I know that this is just based on Russian history and the author has taken creative liberties (obviously, there's magic and whatnot) but the basic linguistic structure should still be the same. Doing research to make sure you don't completely change the definition of an existing word or name a girl the Russian equivalent of "Kevin" is really important, and I feel like this did not happen.

Also I think when you write different cultures with different languages, anyone from the same country should have the same speaking style (ie Baghra speech is broken, but as far as we know she was born and raised in the same country as Alina, who speaks perfectly. Botkin, being from a different country, is ok speaking in broken English because he wouldn't be fluent in their native tongue). I realize this is more of me nitpicking, but I really liked where the author was going, it just didn’t quite get there for me.

Now based on this review you might think that I would be giving Shadow and Bone a two or even one star rating. I chose to give it a four star rating because even with all of my complaints, I still really enjoyed this book. Despite its faults Shadow and Bone is completely enthralling and has so much potential to grow. I think a lot rides on the second book of the series, but I’m really hoping the author will take the fantastic history and word she has built and leave the overdone plot devices behind.